Thursday, April 12, 2018

Border Patrol Reports ‘Large Groups’ of Migrants Crossing into Texas

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector are reporting “large groups” of illegal immigrants crossing the Texas border with Mexico, according to a statement circulated Tuesday. They are mostly composed of unaccompanied minors and families from Central America.

During a two-day period last week, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Weslaco Station reported the apprehension of 112 migrants in two large groups that crossed the border from Mexico illegally on Friday and Saturday. The arrests occurred near the Texas border town of Hidalgo, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Tuesday morning.

“As these family units and unaccompanied children continue to illegally flow into the United States, agents are pulled from the field to process, jeopardizing operational control of the border,” RGV Sector Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. said in a written statement.

In one incident on Friday, Weslaco Station agents came upon a group of 37 who crossed the border near Hidalgo. The following day, agents from the same station came upon a group of 75 illegal immigrants.

Officials said that the groups were mostly Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) and Unaccompanied (UAC) Alien Children from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Of the 112 illegal aliens arrested, 14 were unaccompanied minors.